Fire Fighting Training in Manufacturing: How Often Should It Be in Punjab?

Dear All,

I have a query about what should be the frequency of fire fighting training for employees in a manufacturing company. We conducted it twice a year, but in the last few days, an auditor asked for at least once every two months. What should be the frequency in Punjab?

The auditor is correct.

The Factories Act prescribes the frequency for a fire drill to be every 2 months.

Thank you, Avika ji. But I am still on the verge of knowing about Fire Fighting Training. We conduct Fire Smoke Drills on a biweekly basis as per the Factory Act.

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Thank you, Avika ji.

But I am still on the verge of knowing about Fire Fighting Training. We conduct Fire Smoke Drills on a biweekly basis as per the Factory Act.

Fire Fighting Drill Frequency as per Punjab Factories Rules 1952

As per Rule 66(12)(c) of the Punjab Factories Rules 1952, fire fighting drills shall be held as often as necessary and at least once every two months. It does not mention the frequency of the training, only that there should be adequate training. The auditor might have had extralegal considerations to reach his decision. I recall an auditor suggesting to a client of mine to conduct weekly fire drills, considering the transient nature of the contract workforce in their establishment. It would be best to clarify the reason behind this.

Regards

The frequency of fire drills needed depends on which state your factory comes under. The factory rules provide the details. So whether your auditor is right or not depends on that factor.

In addition, you need to see the other relevant laws like the state's fire safety law, and whether it is applicable to your factory, other certification requirements (e.g., OSHAS requires that you also record the evacuation for each of the departments and map them to study improvements).

Rajni Kargwal,

The frequency of fire-fighting training is not mentioned in (1) Section 7-A-2(c) & Section 111-A(ii) of the Factories Act and Model Factories Rules, as well as in (2) Rule 13(2), Rule 15(1), Schedule 7 & Schedule 8 of MSIHC Rules 1989. Additionally, in (3) Ann-C of IS-14489 (Code of Practice of OSH Audit and Guidelines of ILO), only words such as Initial and Refresher training, Repetitive training, are appropriately used.

Prahlad Patel